Evangelization…I’m Not Good at It

I don’t think I’ve ever been in a situation like this before. At work, I’m around people who’s religious affiliation I either don’t know or know to be nothing. One girl in particular, nice person, is ok with calling herself a heathen. I’ve been working with her a lot and she’s asked me some questions about my faith.

One time she had a table of Christian ladies. They seemed like evangelicals to me and were the type to talk about God every few minutes and in regards to everything i.e. “God blessed me yesterday when I found a tea set.” This led to a couple small conversations on religion between us. She said “I don’t know if your religious at all”. I responded “a little” which was probably the understatement of the week.

You see, I am by nature a quiet person and this got me flustered. I’ve never really talked about my religion with anyone like this. It’s uncharted territory and it’s awkward. Religion is one of those no-no subjects, right? It shouldn’t be, but it can make people uncomfortable.

Today, the same girl saw my scapular (it’s been fussy lately since I’ve been wearing shirts that aren’t crew neck) and asked about it. I threw back an awkward “I’m Catholic. It’s a scapular.” response but she was curious. So I showed her, told her it was a bit of cloth, when she asked I told her it had Jesus and Mary on it, and finished off by saying it was a devotional thing.

I guess that’s an improvement from before. But really, this makes me flustered. I’ve never really talked to someone who wasn’t Catholic of fallen away Catholic or Christian about my religion. This is new. And it’s scary. Honestly, I’ve been thinking more about alleviating awkwardness (or something) than sharing my faith. The only thing I can think of is to rehearse in my head what I’d say if a similar situation presented itself again.

Does anyone have any advice? How do you share your faith without it being awkward or without being afraid? How do you share without coming off as a zealot?

9 thoughts on “Evangelization…I’m Not Good at It”

Ok, I am not a pro at this. And I keep thinking to myself “What in the world am I going to say if someone asks me about my scapular I’ve just tarted to wear again?!?!?!” I have no clue! Like seriously, a devotional thing….did it start off as a sacrificial thing? I should probably know.

But anyway, this is SO COOL! How awesome is it that she’s asking questions!!!!!!!! And that she asked a second one obviously shows that she wasn’t turned away by your answer to the first 🙂 Yay!

One thing my family has always lived by is evangelizing through how we live, no necessarily what we say. We know lots and lots of people who are fallen-away Catholics, and we strive to live by example because Lord knows they aren’t going to listen to everything we’d say. This is different for you because she’s actually asking you questions.

One thing I’d recommend is making sure you know basic things to tell her (which you already do!). Read an apologetics 101 thing since she knows you’re Catholic now and might ask a general question. Carry some literature you could give her. Talk to someone at your church. Wear a saint bracelet, and be prepared to talk about it. Little things can make all the difference. Sure rehearse answers, but it’s unlikely she’ll ask that exact question. It’s like when I took speech classes and was told NEVER WRITE OUT YOUR SPEECH because then you’ll clam up and stumble when you can’t remember that perfect word. Ask God to guide your words and speek through you whenever you have the opportunity to talk to her.

One of the signs in the 4 signs book I read recently was evangelization, and I loved reading about it. It’s something I have neglected to do outright because it is scary – because I know that I know so little about Catholicism. So conquer that fear. Learn more. And I’ll bring the book back!

Just know you might be planting a little seed in her. Who knows what it’ll turn into!

Well, this one looks interesting. It’s not really an apologetics guide, but rather answers to common questions (explanations not evidence).

It could be something just to clarify teachings and give words, analogies etc, to what the church teaches. It’s not really an apologetics book but it could be good for me just so I can talk about things. (Also, it’s super cheap 😉 )

Check out the Prove It! series by Amy Welborn. Its a series of short books (church, Jesus, prayer, etc.) and it gives concise answers to popular questions/statements about Catholics. Its mostly geared towards defending the Catholic faith when talking to other Christians but it is a great resource!

[…] 4)Apply to more jobs, and get at least one interview (hopefully) I did one better. I found a job and have been working at the cafe for over 2 weeks. You can read more about how I got the job here and about the awkward intersection between faith and my coworkers here. […]